The technology to store and transport oil lagged behind drilling technologies. Round wooden storage tanks with iron hoops, although an improvement over the previous box shaped vats, were still problematic: they leaked, and were a fire hazard. Iron tanks were in use as early as 1862, but the shift to these tanks was delayed by iron shortages caused by the Civil War.

The Robert N. Dennis Collection of Stereoscopic Views (NYPG91-F314 058f) Courtesy of the New York Public Library